Integrated circuit cards or chip cards, devices having embedded microelectronic circuits, are used today as payment cards for conducting transactions, as well as for many other purposes. Such cards may store multiple applications ranging from credit, debit or stored value applications, to non-value applications including loyalty or authentication. Chip cards typically contain a certain number of erasable or nonerasable memory areas for storing, in part, such applications and data related to the applications and the transactions being conducted. Chip cards having a microprocessor are generally referred to as smart cards in which the microprocessor generally controls data handling and access to the different memory areas on the card based on a given set of conditions (passwords, encryption, external devices, etc.), which are well utilized and known in the art.
In the smart card industry, particularly related to transactions, much emphasis is placed on how best to capture, store, utilize, and maximize data personal or unique to the cardholder. For instance, in the smart card industry, particularly related to financial transactions, much emphasis is placed on how best to capture, store, utilize, and maximize data personal or unique to the cardholder. For instance, Gemplus' GemUtilities and Schlumberger's SmartValet allow cardholders to store personal information, and then interact with it, but this functionality is limited in that the data can only be accessed via a personal computer, and the information is stored and accessed in a proprietary mechanism. In other words, GemUtilities card information can only be accessed by a GemUtilities equipped personal computer; there is no interoperability. Further, the allowable data fields (name, address, phone number, and the like) are not user selectable, and some data is not user modifiable.